Marking 10 Years Since 9/11/2001 804
10 years ago today, coordinated terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C. killed nearly 3,000 people. It wasn't the first terrorist attack directed against the U.S., or even on U.S. soil, but it was the deadliest, and came at a time of relative peace. Probably most people reading this remember where and how they heard the news. We've often discussed the consequences of the attack: security cordons, ID checks and metal detectors where none existed before, a reexamination of how U.S. policy affects international perception and attitudes, and the encroachment of surveillance policies and technology, to name a few. Today, we don’t want to inundate you with links to tributes and retrospectives, so we’ll offer the only thing we can: a look back at how the day unfolded here. Our thoughts are with everyone who lost friends and family members.
That's not the first memorable 09-11 (Score:5, Informative)
In 1714, the Spanish army crushed the Catalan resistance and imposed their barbarian culture upon them. A whole nation obliterated.
In 1973, the US-backed Pinochet overthrew the democratic government of Chile. At least 3,197 died.
Re:My thoughts are with everyone who lost anyone (Score:4, Informative)
"Religion may have been played a small part in convincing the attackers to commit suicide, but the motivation for the attacks themselves was political."
That "small part" is lethal.
The sad thing is (Score:3, Informative)
that the terrorists have won.
Re:and the saddest thing (Score:2, Informative)
Re:That's not the first memorable 09-11 (Score:0, Informative)
In 1973, the US-backed Pinochet overthrew the democratic government of Chile. At least 3,197 died.
Salvador Allende was "democratically elected", but then, so was Hitler. Before Pinochet forcibly removed him from power, Allende had destroyed democracy in Chile by imposing socialism in violation of Chilean law.
No, the CIA was not involved in the coup.
Re:10 years later (Score:5, Informative)
Maybe he'll come back with some humanitarian understanding, as Mike Prysner. This is, or should be, an iconic speech:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akm3nYN8aG8 [youtube.com]
Bin Laden said what? (Score:5, Informative)
Summarized excerpt from "Al Qeada's Strategy to the Year 2020":
bin Laden's stated goal, before and after the terror attacks in Kenya and on the Cole, was to draw the West into an intractable war with the Middle East. He was an evil fuck, but like some evil fucks in the past, he wasn't crazy or stupid. He got the idea from us in the late 80s when the same policy bankrupted the Soviet Union.
"I tell you, freedom and human rights in America are doomed. The U.S. government will lead the American people in — and the West in general — into an unbearable hell and a choking life." --October, 2001
"All we have to do is send two mujaheddin... to raise a small piece of cloth on which is written "al-Qaeda" in order to make the generals race there, to cause America to suffer human, economic and political losses." --2004
Re:He just made one mistake (Score:4, Informative)
On these subjects, if you read "news", or even *real* news , you're probably already unknowingly subject to various propaganda campaigns, unless you read a *really* wide range of news from various agencies and countries, in different languages.
The picture painted (for example) in the news in the Muslim world is not as rosy for the US as the whatever news you read.
Re:My thoughts are with everyone who lost anyone (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Nice summary, but... (Score:4, Informative)
True. Of course, I also remember Palestinians cheering in the streets after the attack. Almost everyone in the world could be better behaved and more humane.
I remember that one too. I also remember that it was a fake, footage taken from some different event.
Re:and the saddest thing (Score:5, Informative)
The problem is, the Religious Right also wants to destroy the world. Go see Rapture Ready forums: every time something bad happens somewhere, the news is met with jubilence; because, after all, it hastens the day when Lord Jesus returns and drowns the world in fire while the righteous - meaning people who'll enjoy watching everyone else burn - watch. And if Lord Jesus might seem to be taking his time in returning... Well, one could always help God's plan along by causing some bad news, right?
Basically, we have two bunches of omnicidal maniacs, one with nuclear weapons, and both are trying to goad each other to get on with it.
Re:Nice summary, but... (Score:1, Informative)
True. Of course, I also remember Palestinians cheering in the streets after the attack.
Was just reading about that episode from John Simpson's book:
"The great majority of Palestinians I knew were stunned by the news of the attack, and realised immediately that it would do their cause nothing but harm"
"But the pictures of eight or so Palestinians rejoicing went around the world. I must have seen them repeated a dozen times over the next few days. The human mind has a remarkable tendancy to generalise from particular cases."
- News From No Man's Land, p171
Re:The terrorists won, beyond their wildest dreams (Score:3, Informative)
When the Supreme Court handed Bush the 2000 election, The Onion ran a story entitled "Our Long National Nightmare of Peace and Prosperity Is Finally Over".
Look it up and read it. It's chillingly prescient.
P.S. Congrats on a very good 9/12/01 column
Re:But (Score:5, Informative)
It follows the way we say it in speech. The numbers are just an abbreviation, after all. We don't say 1st September, 1990; we say September 1st, 1990. So it follows that when you use the abbreviation, you use the same order.
You can argue that it's not the best system, but to say it is not logical is just blind.
Re:But (Score:4, Informative)
It's not just "good," it's standardized [wikipedia.org]. It's the only correct way. Anyone who doesn't format dates per ISO 8601 is stupid. "American style" and "European style" are both stupid. I haven't used either one in ages.